The Matchup

Having secured first place in the Canada West, the UBC Thunderbirds (19-3-3-1) close out the regular season at home hosting the Mount Royal Cougars (9-12-1-4) Friday and Saturday, February 10th and 11th.

While continuing to tune-up and get ready for the post-season, the T-Birds will also be honouring eight graduating players who will play in their final regular season game Saturday afternoon. Forwards Nicole Saxvik, Haneet Parhar, Jenna Carpenter-Boesch, Stephanie Schaupmeyer, and Emily O'Neill along with defencemen Kelly Murray, Katie Zinn, and Melissa Goodwin will all be recognized for their outstanding University careers in front of friends and family.
 

Senior Weekend Promotion in full swing in 'sunny' Van City ?? Come down to the Doug this Friday 7:00pm and Saturday 4:00pm #gobirds pic.twitter.com/M2aGCD78Bb

— UBC Women's Hockey (@UBCWHKY) February 8, 2017

The Cougars, meanwhile, continue to battle for playoff positioning with a chance of securing a home berth.

Puck drop Friday is at 7:00 p.m. PT with Saturday's senior night beginning at 4:00 p.m. PT, both at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
 

Last Action

The Thunderbirds completed the season series sweep of Regina last weekend with a pair of road wins. Friday night UBC scored three times in the third with Cassandra Vilgrain potting the game winner with just 10 seconds remaining in the third for the 4-3 victory. Saturday night was followed up with a 3-1 win.

Mount Royal split a cross-town series with the Calgary Dinos earning a 3-1 win Thursday night while suffering a 2-0 shutout in Friday's rematch. The Cougars have just one win in their last five games.
 

By the Numbers

8 – UBC has scored an impressive eight power play goals in the last three games alone, a success rate better than 36 percent. On the season, the T-Birds lead the Canada West at 24.3 percent.

85 – The T-Birds lead the Canada West with 85 goals on the season, an average of 3.27 per game.
 

Players to Watch

Cassandra Vilgrain (#91, F) – With three goals and two assists last weekend, the fourth-year forward leads the Thunderbirds in points with 27 and points-per-game at 1.23.



Mairead Bast (#4, D) – After missing two months due to injury, Bast put up a pair of assists in her first game back last Friday setting up Vilgrain for the game winner. Her five goals and 10 assists leads all rookie defencemen in scoring and sits tied for the overall Canada West rookie scoring lead.   
 

Coach's Take

The Thunderbirds have already set a new team record for wins in a season now with 22 along with securing home-ice throughout the Canada West playoffs. But head coach Graham Thomas says there's an opportunity this weekend to continue to raise that bar even further.

"It's definitely going to be a chance to tune-up and work on our systems and special teams," said Thomas.

"(Mount Royal) is going to be wanting to test some things and push. They've been playing well and playing teams hard in a lot of close games and are one of the hot teams right now. It'll be good for us to face an opponent like that."



The eight graduating Thunderbirds set to be honoured this weekend is the largest senior class Thomas has had in his five years at UBC and he can't say enough about what they've meant to the program.

"It takes a real special group to do what this group has done," said Thomas.

"They have character, leadership, energy, fight, skill, it really is a remarkable class that we have. For them to change the culture here, change expectations and raise the bar and re-brand and re-define the program, they really put UBC on the map for women's hockey."